Commas After Openers for Kids: Introductory Words and Phrases (Grade 5 English)

Hi, I'm Luna from DoodleBeez. Many sentences begin with a little warm up before the main idea. We call that an opener. Today we will learn to put a comma after it.

An opener is a word, phrase or clause at the start of a sentence that leads into the main part. After the opener, we place a comma to show a short pause.

Single word openers include yes, no, well, however and finally. Yes, I would love to come. Finally, the bus arrived. The comma comes right after the opening word.

Phrases can be openers too. After the game, we ate pizza. In the morning, the lake was calm. The comma separates the phrase from the main sentence.

Clauses that begin with words like when, if, because and although also need a comma. When the bell rang, everyone cheered. If it rains, we will stay inside.

Why does the comma matter? Read this. While we ate the dog barked. It sounds like we ate the dog! While we ate, the dog barked. The comma makes it clear.

Now it's your turn. Where does the comma go? Before dinner we finished our homework. Pause and try. The comma goes after dinner. Before dinner, we finished our homework.

Great job! Remember, when a sentence starts with an opening word, phrase or clause, put a comma after it. Practice commas after openers in the English Lab at doodlebeez.com. See you next time!